Rural fire services get boost for equipment
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Source: The Chronicle-Journal
Six rural fire departments near Thunder Bay are included among recipients of provincial cash for safety equipment, but more remote services will be left to fund-raise for similar upgrades.
Ontario’s fire protection grant has earmarked $20 million in 2025 and 2026 for 380 fire departments across the province, a provincial news release said last week.
The funds are “to support firefighter health and safety, expand cancer prevention initiatives, and improve emergency response to lithium-ion battery incidents,” a provincial backgrounder said.
In rural Thunder Bay, the largest grant recipient was Oliver Paipoonge’s fire service, which received $102,000 for various equipment upgrades, including “10 complete sets of “bunker gear” — helmets, gloves and boots, according to the backgrounder.
Shuniah’s fire department received nearly $53,000 to cover costs for 25 sets for firefighting gloves, eight sets of bunker gear and “construction of a dedicated washing and drying station for masks and gear.”
In Neebing, the municipal fire department received nearly $80,000 for similar equipment, including particulate hoods and an “extractor” washing machine.
Not every small fire department made the grant list.
While departments in unorganized areas qualify for provincial funds for major items like fire trucks, the scope of the funding is limited.
Nolalu’s fire service, for example, has to fundraise for bunker gear, noted local fire Chief Sarah Shoemaker.
Of Ontario’s 33,000 municipal firefighters, about 20,000 are volunteers who face the same risks as their full-time counterparts, the province says.
“Firefighters are more likely to experience health problems because of exposure to hazardous chemicals,” the backgrounder said.
Fifty to 60 Canadian firefighters die of cancer every year, with half those from Ontario, it added.
“Too many firefighters are impacted by occupational cancer every year, even though they wear their supplied gear and follow strict health and safety protocols,” Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association president Greg Horton said in a news release this spring.
Last week’s fire protection grant included nearly $136,000 for Thunder Bay’s fire department. Those funds are for the purchase of four specialized washing machines and drying cabinets, as well as equipment for suppression, of battery fires, the provincial backgrounder said.
